executive summary:
Instead of typing 'apply(f, args, kwargs)' you can type 'f(*arg, **kwargs)'.
Some file-by-file details follow.
Grammar/Grammar:
simplify varargslist, replacing '*' '*' with '**'
add * & ** options to arglist
Include/opcode.h & Lib/dis.py:
define three new opcodes
CALL_FUNCTION_VAR
CALL_FUNCTION_KW
CALL_FUNCTION_VAR_KW
Python/ceval.c:
extend TypeError "keyword parameter redefined" message to include
the name of the offending keyword
reindent CALL_FUNCTION using four spaces
add handling of sequences and dictionaries using extend calls
fix function import_from to use PyErr_Format
* dosmodule.c: MSDOS specific stuff from posixmodule.c.
* posixmodule.c: removed all MSDOS specific stuff.
* tokenizer.h, parsetok.h: in prototypes, don't mix named and unnamed
parameters (MSC doesn't like this).
* funcobject.c (func_repr): don't call getstringvalue(None) for anonymous
functions.
* bltinmodule.c: removed lambda (which is now a built-in function);
removed implied lambda for string arg to filter/map/reduce.
* Grammar, graminit.[ch], compile.[ch]: replaced lambda as built-in
function by lambda as grammar entity: instead of "lambda('x: x+1')" you
write "lambda x: x+1".
* Xtmodule.c (checkargdict): return 0, not NULL, for error.
* PROTO.h, mymalloc.h: added #ifdefs for TURBOC and GNUC.
* allobjects.h: added #include "rangeobject.h"
* Grammar: added lambda_input; relaxed syntax for exec.
* bltinmodule.c: added bagof, map, reduce, lambda, xrange.
* tupleobject.[ch]: added resizetuple().
* rangeobject.[ch]: new object type to speed up range operations (not
convinced this is needed!!!)
* Grammar: add exec statement; allow testlist in expr statement.
* ceval.c, compile.c, opcode.h: support exec statement;
avoid optimizing locals when it is used
* fileobject.{c,h}: add getfilename() internal function.
* Added "access *: ...", made access work for class methods.
* Introduced subclass check: make sure that when calling
ClassName.methodname(instance, ...), the instance is an instance of
ClassName or of a subclass thereof (this might break some old code!)
(1) dictionaries/mappings now have attributes values() and items() as
well as keys(); at the C level, use the new function mappinggetnext()
to iterate over a dictionary.
(2) "class C(): ..." is now illegal; you must write "class C: ...".
(3) Class objects now know their own name (finally!); and minor
improvements to the way how classes, functions and methods are
represented as strings.
(4) Added an "access" statement and semantics. (This is still
experimental -- as long as you don't use the keyword 'access' nothing
should be changed.)
Skip Montanaro
Jeremy Hylton
Guido van Rossum